N3b oil and gas parks For Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom

The Federal Government has earmarked the sum of N3billion to build two oil and gas parks in Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has said.
Sylva briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The minister of state said FEC approved N3 billion for the parks, which are expected to create additional 1,000 jobs and improve security in the region.
“Today, in council, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented two memos for the establishment of oil and gas parks. Two oil and gas parks were approved in council: one in Akwa Ibom and the other in Bayelsa State.
“These parks are to support the development and manufacturing of oil and gas tools. As some of you know, in some countries, the service sector of the Oil industry is sometimes even bigger than the oil industry itself.
“Unfortunately, in Nigeria, that sector has not really grown so much. Now, this administration is really commitment to developing the service sector and that is why the oil and gas parks are being built. These parks will create a lot of jobs; we are looking at about 1,000 additional jobs. Of course, they will also improve the security of the Niger Delta region,” he said.
On the Deep Offshore Act, Sylva said: “Most of these laws are old and they need to be amended. The amendment of these laws really portends a lot for us. There are a lot of missed opportunities already.
“The previous law provided that when oil prices went beyond $20, we were supposed to negotiate and get some additional revenues. We didn’t take advantage of that. Of course, when we approached the oil companies, they said this was a lost opportunity; it’s not lost money because this money is not just there, it is not being kept in some cupboard.
“So, of course, it is a lost opportunity. We have to do something quickly to ensure that we don’t lose this opportunity in the future.
“That is why we have to ensure that this bill is passed. With this bill now, there will be some adjustments in the fiscal regime. We believe that the government will get a lot from the oil companies, especially their deep shore exploration activities.”
He added: “You know that the PSCs mean that they invest the money, they recover their cost before the government begins to get some revenues from it. Unfortunately, the recovery, each time they keep investing and they keep recovering. So, if you don’t take time, you never really get to the point where you benefit at all, because, the oil companies are perpetually recovering cost.
“So, with the Deep Offshore Act Amendment, all those things are taken care of.” he said

On the move to recover $62b from international companies, he said “Well, we have started discussions. Let us consider that as a lost opportunity, the money was not in a cupboard, they have taken it. Nobody can bring out that kind of money, I mean, we can’t get $62billion.
“We can, maybe, get something from them, but not $62 billion. It’s an opportunity we have lost. We have already started discussions with them, but that is what is clear that it is a lost opportunity, really.
“The amendment of the bill cannot be retroactive. Laws cannot be retroactive, we have to look forward,” he said.